Budweiser Select 55 - Anheuser-Busch

Brad007

Vermont

1.25/5  rDev -24.2%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1

A 55 calorie beer? Wonder what kind of trainwreck this will be?

Pours a dark golden color with a one-finger head into my pint glass. Looks to be highly carbonated. Dull presentation.

Aroma is full of grainy malt and nothing much else. Sweet and similar to NA beer.

Taste is grainy and watery with only a hint of adjunct and an unpleasant, slightly-metallic taste in the middle.

Carbonation is similar to that of soda or NA beer. Unpleasant lingering taste. Watery

Avoid like the plague. This is just overkill and the very reason why AB/InBev is cannibalizing itself in the name of profits. They just don't understand that it's not calories but rather carbs. Waste of money.

Serving type: bottle

02-21-2010 04:58:21 | More by Brad007

BBri

New Jersey

1.25/5  rDev -24.2%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1

A: Very light, golden color seems to be almost a by-product rather than a goal...

S: Sweet and very light. Very little character.

T: Harsh. Bad. Like Bud Bight and water mixed 50/50.

M: Heavily carbonated so it's almost like drinking a soda. If a good stout is silky smooth, this is like drinking felt with sand on it.

D: I would highly recommend against it. It's all around bad.

Serving type: bottle

12-31-2010 15:03:11 | More by BBri

Beastdog75

New Jersey

1.25/5  rDev -24.2%
look: 2 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1.5

I thought regular Bud Select was already a light enough beer but apparently not. Bud Select 55 is a very lo-cal beer that is very low in the flavor department.

This beer pours a golden color with a fingers worth of fizzy foam that disappears in under 30 seconds. Tons of little fizzy bubbles race to the top of the class, indicating that this will be a very carbonated beer. The brew has that typical Bud Light smell of husky grains, and it also has a tiny bit of skunk for good measure no thanks to the clear glass bottle. The beer almost stings the tongue because of the sharp carbonation level. The beer is unsurprisingly bland and watery. There is a slight husky grain flavor present and a little bit of bitterness in the finish, but I would compare the flavor more to seltzer water than anything. Some dryness lingers on in the finish and the beer has no alcoholic warmth.

I think Coors Light might still be a more watery beer, but while Coors just lacks flavor for the most part, Bud Select 55 is almost a chore to drink. It felt like it took me a half hour to finish the bottle. I think the unpleasant mouthfeel really hindered this beer. This is definitely not recommended, even to people who like light beers.

Serving type: bottle

08-25-2011 20:18:45 | More by Beastdog75

Kooz

New York

1.25/5  rDev -24.2%
look: 2 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5

Pale yellow with no head. No discernible smell. Tastes grainy and slightly chalky. No bitterness, but a slight sourness (not in a good way). It almost tastes rancid. There is a bit of body, surprisingly. Not much, and not enough to be good, but it isn't the worst I've had. Overall, if I want beer, I'll pass on this. If I want low cal, I'll get a Michelob Ultra, and if I want a cheap Big Brew beer to get drunk on, I'll find some Coors Light. This beer has no place in my rotation.

Serving type: bottle

09-18-2012 00:55:36 | More by Kooz

RomaniIteDomum

Florida

1.27/5  rDev -23%
look: 2.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1.5

Born 8/29/09

Gotta have more people rate this beer to make sure the results from the first two weren't coincidence. I couldn't let this beer suffer a bad reputation due to lack of tastings. Or maybe I just wanted to see what all the fuss was about. This shit sells like Girl Scout Cookies in a frat house.

I actually bothered pouring this beer into a glass even though the bottle, like the beer, is perfectly transparent. Upon doing so a remarkably large head formed. Like pouring a soft drink. A soft drink resembling watery piss. It was entertaining, though, to watch the bubbles form where I was pouring. The mass amounts of carbonation formed by a simple pour were crazy. It looked like the pour was a solid mass of bubbles in the liquid. Strange. It even sounds like a soft drink. And that massive head lasts about 20 seconds then it is back to piss Coke. I gave it the extra 1/2 point for being entertaining.

Upon smelling this I have to give props to Bud for managing to make a Bud Light smell like Perrier. They weren't too effective, though, as I can detect a hop. That one lonely hop that will undoubtedly be the center of what is to come.

Dare I subject my taste buds to this? What have they done to me? Here goes. Oh, fuck that's bad. I was mostly kidding before when I compared it to Perrier with a hop, but that's ecaxtly what it tastes like. You could make this at home with 55 calories of Bud Select topped off with club soda. I'm going to man up and finish it, since it tastes mostly like nothing, but I'm not going to enjoy it.

In the mouth it feels like beer-flavored water. There is some syrupy feel in there from the "beer", but it's mostly an assault of caustic bubbles raping your tongue. I can't even taste what little taste there was to begin with anymore. And I'm about 1/4th of the way through the drink.

Even though this is the lightest malted barley beverage on the face of the earth I couldn't drink more than one. In a lifetime. At least not without monetary compensation. I must still take my hat off to Bud. Their marketing department is awesome. If they can get people to buy this they should use thair powers for good and maybe bring peace to the Middle East or get Lindsey Lohan to eat a damn sandwich. It does, however, get the extra 1/2 point because you could probably replace water with this stuff and still maintain life. Hell, it's more sanitary than most people's tap water.

Serving type: bottle

09-16-2009 04:44:55 | More by RomaniIteDomum

beerprovedwright

Georgia

1.27/5  rDev -23%
look: 1.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.5

My pour yielded a one finger head of the whitest foam I have seen in a long time, and I am glad I took a good look because it was gone very quickly, leaving very little lace very little cling. Color is a 2 on the SRM beer color chart. Smell is a light aroma of cooked corn and wheat. Taste is much like the smell, but less of it. Sweet corn and wheat, maybe a slight touch of grapefruit, can I say bland. Mouthfeel equals fizzy water. I guess if you want to drink a lot and pee a lot in a night of fun with friends and still be sober to drive, this would be the beer for you.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2011 15:12:02 | More by beerprovedwright

TCgoalie

Michigan

1.3/5  rDev -21.2%
look: 1.5 | smell: 1 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1

A: After 5 minutes time, it is hard to know if I am drinking beer or apple juice.

S: The smell reminds me of skunk, plastic, and grapes all mixed together.

T: First taste is very watery and gives way to an extremly mild adjunct beer taste. I think I can achieve this flavor by mixing 2 parts water to 1 part Bud Light.

M: The mouthfeel seems lighter than tap water.

D: I could drink this all day long which should be reason for a score of 5. However, the fact that I would not be buzzed combined with the illusion that I'm drinking dirty water lowers the drinkabilty score to 1.

Serving type: bottle

11-04-2009 23:24:52 | More by TCgoalie

lbaker

Indiana

1.3/5  rDev -21.2%
look: 1 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

My wife bought these as a part of her diet...here we go...

(a) Pours an extreme pale color, very see through, highly carbonated. (1/5)

(s) Corn? What the hell is that (1/5)

(t) Wow. If you have to drink this on a diet lets just let go of beer for good and treat it like a great beer fast. This is silly nasty. (1/5)

(m) The only mouthfell here is attributed to its high amount of carbonation. Nothing complex here to remember. This is what I imagine a mouth full of piss to be like. (2/5)

(d)If I could get past the taste I could probably drink Bud's supply of this brew, and I'd be sober enough to remember just how horrible each one was. (2/5)

Serving type: bottle

02-21-2010 06:42:55 | More by lbaker

KarlHungus

Minnesota

1.3/5  rDev -21.2%
look: 1.5 | smell: 1 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1

This beer pours a clear golden color. The head is one inch in height, and recedes within ten seconds into absolutely no lacing. I don't think I have ever viewed a beer with this little lacing. I mean usually there is at least a tiny ring of bubbles around the edge of the glass, but not in this beer. It really doesn't look like a beer. The aroma seems to have gone where ever the head did. That is to say it smells like water....upon closer inspection there is a little something there making it smell more like tainted water. Truly awful. It would be better if it just didn't have a smell. The taste is like carbonated water. The mouthfeel is the thinnest I have every encountered in a beer which makes sense being that this beer is only 55 calories, and a mere 2.4% ABV. I can handle the thin body, but this beers under carbonation is a huge detractor. I never thought I'd say a beer brewed by Anheuser-Busch is under carbonated, but this beer truly is. There is some carbonation to it, but not enough for a light lager. Overall, this is a really bad beer. I will never drink this again.

Serving type: bottle

03-13-2010 00:10:44 | More by KarlHungus

omowasu

Illinois

1.3/5  rDev -21.2%
look: 1 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 2.5

Oh man, this stuff is awful. Had a 12-pack mysteriously left in my car after a night out, now I know why.

Select 55 tastes exactly like club soda. There are practically no malt or hop flavors, nothing. Think of a club soda with a squeeze of old lemon and a small dash of bitters.

Frankly, this stuff would be better used as a seltzer water for mixing with inferior Scotch whiskies. It could find a niche there.

One thing Select 55 is, is thirst-quenching. Due to the lack of any flavor or body, I suppose one could hang out after a long jog or ride while wearing spandex with their "buddies" and quench their thirst with these. Other than that, there is really no place for this beer in a mans fridge.

Serving type: can

04-22-2010 00:58:14 | More by omowasu

berserker256

Michigan

1.33/5  rDev -19.4%
look: 1.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 2

Pale yellow gold with a head that's gone in 30 seconds. Now it looks like apple juice. It smells like an empty glass of beer. What I mean is, it smells like a glass that contained a skunked Heineken, that beer was drank, then the glass was left on the counter overnight. That's what this beer smells like. The taste? Jesus. Water. This tastes like cornade (Lemonade but made with corn). Water mouthfeel. Flat. terrible. I hope these horrible beers go away. What's the point? If people don't like beer they should drink something else.

Serving type: bottle

12-12-2009 23:19:28 | More by berserker256

barrenbane

Ohio

1.33/5  rDev -19.4%
look: 1 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1 | overall: 1

A - The closest beer to water I've seen in my life. It makes BMC light lagers look like craft beer. Heavily, heavily, heavily carbonated.

S - Smells like water with a drop of light beer added.

T - Almost completely devoid of flavor -- I'm not exaggerating. I would think I was drinking Perrier if I was blindfolded.

M - Reminiscent of sparkling water.

O - The ads say it's the "lightest beer in the world". They aren't lying. I strongly suggest sacrificing an additional 40-60 calories and go with a BMC light lager instead.

Serving type: can

08-05-2011 06:53:14 | More by barrenbane

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

1.35/5  rDev -18.2%
look: 1 | smell: 2 | taste: 1 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.5

Had to try it just to see what the hype was all about. I'm still impressed that this hasn't been retired by the brewery. It's one thing to have a light beer, and it's another thing to have a Light Light Beer. Honestly, I'm struggling to see the purpose to this. If Americans are getting too fat to enjoy a good beer from time to time then they shouldn't be having beer at all. This beer is a waster of money, time, ingredients, and everything else that is put into making this. I'd rather see this removed from the shelves and Crystal Pepsi put in it's place.

Serving type: bottle

03-20-2011 16:18:00 | More by Knapp85

jsh420

Illinois

1.38/5  rDev -16.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 2

hey someone had to be the 1st

born 8/10/09

pours a bright clear golden with a 2 finger head that fades fast and leaves no lacing

smells like beer but nothing but a little corn

taste - wow this is weak - it is almost just carbonated water - notes and i say notes of corn

mouthfeel - what can i say... its water carbonated water!!

drinkability - ?? i dont know how to rate this since it is easy drinking but i never want to drink it again?

i pray this beer never makes it out of the test markets - and i should be flogged for buying a sixer just to review it

Serving type: bottle

09-09-2009 03:26:26 | More by jsh420

huxcrunner

New York

1.38/5  rDev -16.4%
look: 1.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2

appearance is a very very pale yellow with pretty much no head

not much happening for smell no hops no malts coming thru really nothing at all

taste is so light that you cant even tell there is alcohol in it there is not real hint of hops or malt flavor just some carbonation, it might as well be odouls

it has a clean mouthfeel but that is due to the lack of really anything in it

it has good drinkable but taste is so light that if your looking for some sort of beer flavor but if you want a light beer this is not for you get a real light beer this is not a good beer and should be avoided

Serving type: bottle

05-01-2010 21:16:31 | More by huxcrunner

bbkd3b

Missouri

1.38/5  rDev -16.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5

Okay... I'd like to give this beer a chance. So I'm going into this with a completely open mind and a "1984" sort of grim optimism. With that, I poured this beer in a pint glass.

A - Okay, off to a... decent start, I suppose. It's a golden color with surprisingly good carbonation. However, there is absolutely NO head on this, so it looks more like apple juice... but hey, I like apple juice so there's a plus.

S - A very slight hint of grains... and just a wee-bit of alcohol. Virtually not there.

T - Honest to goodness... Nothing. It tastes closer to Perrier than beer.

M - Thin, watery, but at least it has good carbonation. It gives it a bit of crispness that would otherwise be absent.

D - I'll struggle through the 2 I have, but after that, I will never drink this again.

Overall/notes - I'm moving and under a lot of stress, so my cousin gave me two of these as a sort of pick-me-up. In all honesty, I'm not going to make some sarcastic remark about it. After all, this is a beer with 55 calories. How does one review that? It accomplishes what it sets out to do: have the lightest beer possible. That, however, doesn't absolve it of all of the numerous faults it has. Just not a good beer and not even worth the can it comes in.

Serving type: bottle

07-31-2010 02:25:04 | More by bbkd3b

chaunur

Kentucky

1.4/5  rDev -15.2%
look: 3 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 2

Thank God I didn't pay for it, the Bud girls were at the bar giving out free samples, actually very few people would partake, only did because I felt sorry for them...a mistake.

Poured a clear nearly colorless into a pint glass. A thin white head that disappeared instantly, more like a soda water head than a beer head. Smelled like a soda water also, hell tasted like soda water too! No flavor, no texture, no reason to drink it!

Serving type: bottle

03-17-2010 18:31:32 | More by chaunur

orangesol

Pennsylvania

1.45/5  rDev -12.1%
look: 1.5 | smell: 1 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1 | overall: 2

My buddy offered me a sip of this the other night, I think that was all I will need to review this one...

A - Pours pale straw yellow with a fizzy white half finger tall white head leaving no lacing down the glass.

S - Kinda stale. Very faint hops and lightly toasted malt. How do they get people to drink this stuff? It is terrible.

T - I guess people like drinking stuff that tastes this bad. VERY faint hops and light malt. All you can really taste is how watery it is, and that is not a good thing.

M - Light body and flavor with moderate carbonation. This feels like I am drinking flavored water. Terrible.

D - Not good. How do you make a terrible beer even worse? You make Budweiser Select 55.

Serving type: bottle

03-03-2011 17:09:25 | More by orangesol

happygnome

Minnesota

1.48/5  rDev -10.3%
look: 2 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1 | overall: 1.5

a: pours a very pale yellow color maybe a millimeter of head that disappears extremely quickly leaving not even a slight trace of lace lots of carbonation bubbles rise to the top
s: very subdued sweet macro rice
t: water with a hint of sweetness towards the finish
m: light bodied beer with ample carbonation

overall, i will not be buying this one very bland

Serving type: bottle

12-12-2009 18:55:20 | More by happygnome

TheKingofWichita

North Carolina

1.48/5  rDev -10.3%
look: 1 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.5

Alright, this beer is fairly pointless. An ABV of 2.4?
Pours straw yellow color kind of like the color of urine.
Smelled like booze.
Taste like water and bland barley.
Very, very thin mouthfeel.
Only drinkable for wimps and people who want to join in beer drinking with people who drink actual beer.

Serving type: bottle

10-05-2010 02:24:39 | More by TheKingofWichita

lester619

Wisconsin

1.5/5  rDev -9.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1 | overall: 1.5

Pale yellow. Fizzy carbonation. Almost no smell. No tase at all. None. Tastes wet with some bubbles. This beer is completely pointless. I'm not one of those snobs who thinks there is no place for a mass produced yellow beer. Sometimes you want a simple cheap lager that you can down all day. But even I can't defend this. If they got it down to 55 calories, what is it made of? It's not even that drinkable because it is so boring. It's like drinking a case of bottled water. You probably could, but why? If this is what you have to drink in order to drink beer, you don't like beer.

Serving type: bottle

11-09-2009 19:20:43 | More by lester619

AlCaponeJunior

Texas

1.53/5  rDev -7.3%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1

Got in a sampler sixer just for the purpose of reviewing, lol.

Yellow and clear with a good head that quickly dissipates into nothing and leaves spotty and minimal lacing.

Doesn't smell at all really. Barely detectable lemony grains are all I can find.

Tastes like a watered down lager with a pinch of lemon.

Feels like water with a little carbonated beer in it.

Drink is a zero but that's not an option so I'll up it to a full 1.0.

Serving type: bottle

11-27-2010 01:26:00 | More by AlCaponeJunior

Wasatch

Utah

1.53/5  rDev -7.3%
look: 2 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.5

Pours a clean pale yellow color, some carbonation, with a fizzy little white head, some sticky lacing left behind. The nose is grainy/ricy, slight spice. The taste is watery at best, not much going on here. Light Body. Not Drinkable, a waste of money on this one.

Serving type: bottle

02-28-2011 20:53:26 | More by Wasatch

jsprain1

Minnesota

1.53/5  rDev -7.3%
look: 2 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.5

A- Pale straw. Fizzy head disappears immediately.
S- It smells like grains steeped in water. If it were stronger it would be like when you forget about that empty bowl of cereal for a couple days.
T- Grainy, slightly metallic. Undeniably watery. Best drunk tremendously cold.
M- Watery. Thin. Initially overcarbed, but by the end the carbonation is gone.
D- Easy to drink, in that it's almost water. Not easy to drink in that it doesn't taste that great.

Serving type: bottle

03-18-2011 17:06:27 | More by jsprain1

Vancer

Illinois

1.55/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 1.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1 | overall: 1.5

The only thing remotely resembling beer is the pour, faint straw yellow with no head or lace. No aroma or taste either, this is just a glass of water with a dollop of grain and rice tossed in for beer effect. Thankfully, I was given one and did not lay down any hard earned money on it.

With this, I wrap up my reviewing days.

Serving type: bottle

02-28-2010 18:22:54 | More by Vancer